Accidentally
by RisingRaven100
Summary: The Akatsuki want her, Shikamaru tried to stop her, Sasuke is pretending to /care/, and all of Konoha just wants to know where the hell she is! Akatsuki/Sakura, some ShikaSaku friendship. (New/updated version)
1. 1: Leaving

Italics- _Thinking_

Quotations- "Speaking"

Parentheses & bold- (Author's Notes)

OOO- Timeskip

OoOoOo- Scene change

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 1:**_ Leaving_

"You don't have to go, you know..." he pleaded, though the tone was barely there.

Sakura turned around.

"I'm sorry, Shikamaru, but I have to get stronger if I'm going to help Naruto bring Sasuke back."

Truthfully, she had gotten over Sasuke sometime amongst her training with Tsunade; it's really only familial love and her duty towards Naruto what drives her now. Still, though, the _village _needed him back, to help fix the home he'd left behind twice now, a place that was so broken from war. Without him, morale will stay low as it is with progression at a molasses-slow pace.

If Sakura decided to be wholly, disgustingly honest with herself, she just needed to take in some clean air. She needed to get back to the fresh, jubilant Nature outside the gates, to remind her that there was not only gray. Something about two birds and one stone crossed her mind, but she dismissed it. Shikamaru Nara was the only person in the village that was aware of her departure.

He was her closest friend these days, after all-and the Lazy Genius to boot. Who was she to expect anything less?

"All the others are gonna miss you," he paused and looked down, "_I'm _gonna miss you..."

Sakura's brow furrowed at the situation, the twitch in her lips minor at the proclamation, and her gaze also fell to the ground. It's _dumb_, really, how reminiscent it was to_ that night. _She set her jaw when it crossed her mind.

"I...I know," she searched her hardest for the right words-_any_ words to say. "I'm _so _sorry, Shika. I am. Nobody else may see the justification, but inside, I know I _need _to do this."

Shikamaru gave a small smile and chuckled mirthlessly, "Don't tell _me _about something like justification. I understand, just," he paused again to take a deep breath, though it came out as a sigh. "Don't be _too _troublesome."

Sakura smiled and as her expression fell to something more strangled, more _sad_, she grabbed him in a sudden hug. He was slightly startled, and he felt the tension of a headache building as he clenched his teeth while he squeezed her back. Affection became so much easier to show when you've been through a wartime.

"Goodbye, Shikamaru..." her voice trembled and a single, silent tear rolled down her flushed cheek.

''Bye, Sakura," and so his throat got tight, "Be safe...''

His concern for her well-being made her want to break down and hit him at the same time. When had it come to this? When had Naruto grown as distant as he was from his old friends? Sure, _everyone _was busy, but when even the family-oriented, dropout knucklehead saw even his closest friends twice a week _at most_...She couldn't imagine how he felt-to have Sasuke _so close_, just to have him slip away again? Only, she _could _imagine.

''I will, I promise-I _swear_.'' she nodded a bit excessively, maybe to hide her wet eyes from him.

They released each other, Sakura turning reluctantly. She was so ready to _leave _before. She was in the perfect mindset; she saw her goal and knew how to get there, she thought of all the outcomes and decided with an iron will that anything was better than this. She was so _ready_-and then Shikamaru was there and she had second thoughts. She struggled now, and she wondered, in the back of her mind, if Sasuke felt the same when _she _had so rightfully interjected. Something akin to a pout reached her face as she solemnly doubted it. Casting one final glance at each other, Sakura started down the one and only path _**out **_of the Hidden Leaf Village - the same one Uchiha Sasuke had taken, all those five years ago.

**OOO**

Sakura had been traveling, restlessly hopping from tree branch to tree branch for hours. She landed in a small clearing sheltered by mountains. A look at the moon concluded that three am left her in a sufficiently safe position away from nearby villages and towns and civilization in general.

She felt herself nearing the border of the Land of Rivers as the trees became more sparse ahead of her and thought of her plan: Sand.

And that was truly all she wrote.

She'd planned to visit all of the allies of the Leaf, but found herself wanting to start inside her comfort zone, still.

"I'll camp here..." she mumbled tiredly.

The pinkette halfheartedly set up her tent, despite it really just being a short break that she was taking, once again starting out within her comfort zone. She set to sleep, and found it was little-to-no struggle.

**OOO**

A light growling noise brought Sakura out of the light sleep she'd forged.

She bolted upwards, kunai in hand immediately.

She felt around her slightly blurry senses for a chakra signature, but before she got far-

_growl_

It was only her stomach, and she sighed exasperatedly at the comedy of the situation.

She grabbed an apple out of the pack she had been dragging around all day, rubbed it on her shirt, and minutes later, apple having since been devoured, she packed her things when the moon found her at five in the morning. The obnoxious cloud cover and humidity made her frown, however. Slinging her bag onto her back, she stilled at a wave of dread and chakra. She heard a leaf fall to some dead grass to her four o'clock.

It's Summer time.

"Save me the trouble and come out _now_." she growled.

Something caught her peripheral and she stood her ground defensively, kunai raised. When nothing changed, she inched cautiously in the direction of the previous movement. Then there was a chakra signature, and she bolted for it.

The shadow of someone maybe six centimeters taller than her became increasingly vivid and as she sped up, she could swear she smelled them.

Soft, sand, must, surimi.

Then there was nothing.

Sakura rooted herself to the spot, doing a quick scan for their chakr-

In the blink of an eye, an ear-shattering bolt of lightning struck a nearby tree. Sakura saw double at the sound but brought her arms up to protect herself from the shards of bark and bulk that scattered violently from it. She felt blood trickle down to her elbows and pushed chakra into the wounds. Just as quickly, she raised her head to watch a tree fall towards her, impending but slow.

The muscles in her ankles twitched, but she was frozen and thought of Kakashi.

_Why?_

It was like sticking a fork in an electrical socket when she saw his face, and her double-vision tripled.

She felt sick and fell to her knees, tree inches from her form. Her shoulders shook and her hand flew to her mouth, tears blurring the world around her. A rush of yellow crossed her vision, swooping into her and she landed hard on her back, giving in to the lethargy as she saw nothing.

Voices above her were echoed and distorted.

"Ooo, could that be her?" one excited voice asked.

''How many kunoichi do you _know _with pink hair, yeah?'' another answered warily.

**OOO**

**Ayyyyy everybody! Welcome, newcomers and old, to the edited (fixed, really) version of my thing I've got here.**

**So here's **_**the **_**thing: In the four years since I started this fic under a completely story on my page, I've grown into QUITE the grammar Nazi and frankly, looking at old pieces like that makes me want to beat the living shit out of myself. Looking at that other story (under the same title) would only serve as spoilers at this point, maybe serve as a testament to how I've grown as a writer.**

**Granted, it's still miles beyond that dumb little Teen Titans fic I've got up here, but details are everything.**

**Another thing: I'll get rid of the author notes because I absolutely **_**can't **_**stand the rantings of my twelve-year-old self! Savvy? Cool.**

**Stay frosty ;)**

**~Raven100**


	2. 2: Found

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 2:** _Found_

Sakura shifted numbly, slowly recovering from her daze. She immediately felt cold and took note of the wind blowing furiously against her.

She was outside.

Her arm was trapped uncomfortably beneath her and her shoulder was stiff as she made a move to sit up. It was then that the rest of her senses came back to her, albeit dully, and she paused at the familiar scent of sand and must. Before she got the chance to open her eyes, she remembered her predicament in previous hours. The voices that came only confirmed her worries.

"My bird won't last much longer out in this rain. Hmm..."

Then she was wide awake for a number of reasons, and she felt herself sliding.

Wind, rain, bird, voices.

"Senpai, maybe we should land and find shelter before Miss Sakura catches a cold."

Bird?

She cracked her eyes open slowly and through the blur, she saw the tops of trees.

Bird.

She hoped dearly that they were bushes in actuality; she didn't do well with heights.

She was flying. Fucking _flying_.

How about _no_.

Then it clicked – Deidara! The blond _bomb_shell of Akatsuki. Sakura inconspicuously shifted herself onto her back, spotting orange before it happened – she slipped.

A strangled sort of noise left her lips and she desperately raked her nails across the slimy surface of the hulk of a bird. Even in her terror she found herself making a face at the texture. Sakura heard a grunt above her and belatedly realized that the artist had caught her hand.

"Looks like Sakura-chan is awake, Deidara!"

And then she saw him.

Tobi. Madara. Obito. _Him_.

Before she could react to his presence, there was a jerk upwards. She went nowhere safe and only then did she notice the look of genuine panic on Deidara's face and saw him slipping as well. She watched him crane his neck around to shout at his colleague.

"Oi, Tobi-no-Baka! Why don't you help me out before the whole _bird _capsizes?!"

Below this little fuss, Sakura couldn't very well find her voice as she watched the land rush by below. This left her ability to ask those two to _kindly _shut the hell up (and pull _her _in the same direction) at a very low possibility of success. The wind stung her eyes and she saw a pale boy with well-kempt black hair in her head. She could only handle heights when she was with Sai. He kept so calm and his creations were beautiful and she and Sai were so close and she felt at ease – but _here_? With two _strangers_?

Her other hand (the fingers of which were digging an inch into the bird, as her efforts to climb with chakra were rudely refused by the thing) was taken into a gloved one. Once Deidara caught his footing, the kunoichi was hauled up onto more or less solid ground. She landed on her feet, but watched them sink as she did so. She made another face.

"Dammit, yeah!" Deidara barked, "_Now_ of all times!"

He whirled to face his passengers. "I might have to bring her in for a crash landing," he glanced at Sakura, "Don't go anywhere, princess."

He was impressed with the straight face that looked back at him, minus the twitching brow. _Fair enough. _

He saw the tail deforming behind her and acted quickly, pumping chakra back into the monstrosity as an attempt to salvage its appendages. To no avail, it seems, as the tail collapses the moment he straightens himself. Deidara struggles against the scowl wanting to creep onto his face and steps forward briefly to touch Sakura's arm to usher her towards him. Tobi followed closely behind her, slipping and clinging onto Deidara's leg while the blond glares at him the whole way.

"This damned weather. It always gets in the way, doesn't it? As usual, however, I've come prepared. Hmph." he mumbled, looking skyward and reaching into the pouch at his right.

Sakura watched from behind Deidara as the opposite end of the bird fell apart. She looked warily at Tobi, then at the soggy wings and contemplated kicking him off ahead of time. It could save them time, and very possibly a huge pain in the ass. He whimpered and looked around in a frenzied manner.

_He needs to cut the shit with that chirpy voice of his. Who the hell does he think he's fooling?_

Deidara throwing his arm aside distracted her from executing her plan and she watched him make a hand sign. Just as fast as it happened, her hand was taken again and she was hastily pulled over a great gap – and her heart skipped a beat when she looked down – to another bird. Her shoulder bumped Deidara's and this bird jerked away from Tobi's. The orange-masked rogue ninja squealed and flailed about frantically before ultimately deciding to jump.

Deidara sat near the neck of the new bird to keep it steady, Sakura standing over him. She chose now to speak up.

"Won't this put us in an _achingly _similar situation?"

"Not if I _land_ the thing _before_ history repeats itself. Humph." he said dryly, half-turning to her. A lopsided, amused smile met Sakura's gaze. "Are you going to help that idiot, or...?"

She turned to find Tobi hanging off the side of the bird, preforming something akin to running up the down escalator.

_For now._

OOO

Sakura stayed at the back of the trio throughout the walk. They seemed completely unconcerned about the possibility of her running away and Sakura didn't know if this irritated or confused her more. She asked _herself _why she hadn't run away and found that her answer was her question, and it was right in front of her. They came across a decently-sized cavity in the side of some unnatural cliff. It was then that Sakura noticed the sun setting through the dispersing rain and wondered just _how fucking long_ she'd been out. Not a moment after they were protected from the downpour did Sakura jump on the opportunity – quite literally.

With a chakra-enhanced leap, she tackled Tobi to the ground and violently straddled him, holding his hands on either side of his head with a force that threatened to snap his wrists like twigs. A harsh sneer crossed her face when he began to choke out incoherent cries and struggle against her. Deidara stood dumbfounded and watched, momentarily frozen.

"What are you doing here?! How are you alive?!" she reeled back a fist and laced it with chakra, but her elbow was caught by a panicked Deidara. She glared fiercely at him and he could've sworn she growled.

"Tobi, go get some firewood!" he shouted.

A shaky and rushed "yes, sir!" was spoken and when Sakura turned back, he was gone. She practically snapped to her heels and spun on them to find the bastard booking it out of the cave and into the forest. A noise of frustration left her lips but before she could chase after him, Deidara slid in front of her, hands up in defense.

"Whoa now, let me explain, Kunoichi!" he said, nervous smile in place.

"Sakura." she replied bluntly.

"Sakura," he dropped his hands but didn't relax. "Sakura? Humph. Creative."

She glared at him and he cleared his throat.

"Listen, yeah-I'm no happier about that idiot being back than you are."

"I find that hard to believe, considering you just _saved_ his ass."

"I don't want another war, yeah. Do you want to know what happened or not?"

She calmed, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall of the cavern. Deidara took a deep breath, seating himself in front of her. Sakura's brow furrowed but she followed suit.

"When the entirety of Akatsuki was revived a second time on the whim of Sasuke Uchiha, he was turned away by his brother. Itachi claimed that 'this was not the way,' which, really, is Itachi-speak for 'this jutsu is gross and you shouldn't mess with Nature."

"Yes yes, you all decided to go on for the hell of it, bla-bla-bla – I want to know how and _who _the fuck brought _him _back!" she rushed huffily.

Deidara gave her a scolding look which she was unfazed by. "When Tobi was brought back, only the human part _could _be brought back, which was his "Tobi" persona. That part of him was actually a Zetsu or something like that, way back when. Behind that mask isn't either of those Uchiha bastards, just an idiot with impressive chakra. He's expendable, but not useless. Just fun to have around, at this point. Humph."

Her teeth were clenched, and she _wanted_ to calm down, she really did, but despite this very _real _information, she still wanted to be angry. Kicking ass throughout the war didn't seem to release her hatred for those two men-it didn't bring Neji back, after all. It didn't bring anyone back, no matter how much she hated and scorned and screamed her heart out. Instead, she stiffly asked him more questions until the adrenaline died down – for everyone's safety.

"Where are we?"

Deidara relaxed his face, leaning back to sit up straight. He knew. "On the border of Ame and Tanigakure."

And she had nothing else to say; so many questions but she found no way or will to ask them. The blond in front of her seemed to notice how she mechanically pushed chakra to her fingers and back, like some sort of habit.

"You can calm down, yeah. You know how things are now. Everyplace, every_one_ is in turmoil, all struggling to get back on their feet. There are no enemies and no friends in this world anymore. And to be honest, I don't see it being any different for a long time. Hmm."

And she relaxed, just like that. A heavy sigh escaped her and she leaned her back to the wall once more, a deep, tired frown on her face.

Just then, a flash of orange poked its head around a corner and peered at them cautiously. Deidara jerked his head to the left, and Sakura sighed again. Tobi tiptoed in and set down the soggy wood just as the last remnants of daytime escaped them and the rain picked up again.

It was going to be a long night.

**OoOoOo**

**Gonna try to keep up a weekly upload schedule here, so expect more on the 21****st****, the 28****th****, so on and so forth. **

**Stay frosty, ma shiftas.**

**(Also, happy early birthday to Kakuzu-kun, Russ, and Moeru! Hearts, hearts errywhere)**

**~Raven100**


	3. 3: Angst

**Accidentally**

**Chapter 3:**_ Angst_

Not even 48 hours later, and the village was in relative turmoil. Perhaps it was the memory of the Uchiha heir, what had them working so diligently now. Not for a second, however, did they mistake the identity of their missing kunoichi. It was kinda hard to _miss_. As many precautions as Sakura had taken before she left, she seemed to disregard, or possibly just not _understand_, her sheer number of _friends_.

The hospitals were behind, Lee wasn't training, Ino wasn't getting any beauty sleep, Akamaru wouldn't stop whimpering, and Shikamaru was guilty. The shadow manipulator had been secluding himself in his house, leaving his room for nothing more than food or a bathroom break, with the occasional Shougi match when Chouji came to visit. Even _he_ couldn't coax him away from the Nara estate, not for barbeque, not for cloud-watching, not for _anything _.

The jounin were confused.

The ANBU were clueless.

Naruto was seething, constantly screaming at Baa-chan to send him out to find his precious Sakura-chan, to work harder at catching her trail and bring her the fuck _home. _Tsunade would sigh and shake her head, maybe give him a withering glare and have him removed from her office with a wave of her hand.

Shikamaru pursed his lips again as he contemplated her carefully-chosen words on the night of her departure. _Sasuke, Sasuke, I have to find Sasuke. Bullshit_, he thought. _Sasuke. _Oh, how he hated that boy. Even in their genin days, he couldn't stand the kid, ally or no. He got headaches every time he _looked_ at Sasuke, every time he thought about the unspeakable leash of a burden he held over Sakura. He never knew that leash so well as when they'd had to retrieve the Uchiha asshat.

To see her trembling, crying right in front of him after she'd done everything in her power to get stronger. All that effort, the struggles and the doubts fell to the ground along with her tears at the first sign of _Sasuke_ being _Sasuke_.

Time does _not_ heal all wounds, especially when left to fester and boil. Luckily, that pain had only fueled Sakura's spite and anger, but never overshadowed her rational side. She'd told Shikamaru personally that getting Sasuke back was no longer only a duty to herself, Naruto, _or_ the village, but to her _wounds_ as well. She wanted to get _even_.

_Eye for an eye, _she'd told him once.

_Eye for an eye makes the whole world blind,_ he'd responded, with mirth surfacing in his eyes.

She'd smiled at him – no, _smirked, I feel we'd cause less destruction that way._

And he'd realized then, in utter _delight_, that Sakura was going to _skin his ass_.

_All the best, Sakura, _he wished, staring up at the sky from the sunbathing spot on his porch.

OoOoOo

Tsunade stared at the world outside of her office as Naruto screamed at her, deep frown set on her face. She took another swig of her sake, noticing Naruto's pupils begin to change shape. It was strange. She could've sworn he'd gained so much more control over the years. Just goes to show you – she cut herself off and felt the urge to roll her eyes, scoffing mirthlessly and continuing to ignore Naruto's pleas and insults. He eventually stomped out of her office, gripping at his hair with red cheeks and wet eyes.

OoOoOo

Ino paced the floors of the Hyuuga estate with frantic tears in her eyes, panicking and laughing like a madwoman while she ran her mind over her past few missions and interactions with Sakura. Hinata stared at the floor silently, shins tucked under her as she listened but didn't really care to digest Ino's rants.

OoOoOo

Tenten stared sadly as Lee quite literally flopped about on the training grounds miserably. "Oh, Lee, please stand up…" she said, dropping her defensive stance along with any hope of getting some actual work done.

"My sunshine, my blossom of youth is gone," he wailed, "Tenten, I can feel the lotus withering!"

He gritted his teeth, baring them and latching onto Tenten's legs dramatically. She sighed, bending over slightly to pet his head as he buried his face in her shins and sobbed.

OoOoOo

**Sound**

"Mmm, Sasuke? I've just received a report from one of my supports in the Leaf village. It seems, tragically, that they've lost another shinobi."

His brow furrowed as he ran the stone across his blade for what must have been the thirtieth time, if only to avoid conversation. He'd had a raging headache for about a day and a half now, and the way Ss rolled off of his landlord's tongue made his vision double. He paused and flipped the thing over, giving Orochimaru a sidelong glance. Why should _he_ care?

"So what? People come, people go."

A smile stretched wickedly across Orochimaru's face. Surely he'd get a kick out of this one, eh? The name, the face, the motives, the strength…this one was almost as familiar to him as Sasuke himself.

"No no, you misunderstand me, boy. They've _lost_ her, as in _missing_, possibly rogue. No sign of a struggle, not MIA. Two days without any sign of her and even the ANBU are still in the dark."

Sasuke suppressed a sigh, mulling over his words carefully. "Well," he said slowly and somewhat irately, "who is it then?"

His smile widened. "Contact says it's a girl from _your _class. One," he paused here, as if actually contemplating it, "Haruno Sakura? Who would've thought, hmm? The one to surpass the Godiame, getting kidnapped or defecting – either way, it's incredulous."

Sasuke had twitched when he'd heard her name, almost _started_, and Orochimaru hadn't missed it.

Sakura? What the hell was she doing anywhere but the comfort of her home, her village? Why the hell was she doing anything more than mourning the loss of him all over again? Than rebuilding the village with that detached look that he himself so rarely got to see on her face?

Was he concerned? _Hell_ no. He was confused! He liked to think he knew Sakura well; that he knew her better than anyone and that was why he could bring her to her knees so easily. Sakura? _Gone_? Like hell. If that woman yelled from somewhere in Tanigakure, she could be heard from Kiri. Sakura doesn't just _disappear._

While he didn't like it, he couldn't _stop_ his mind from racing. Sasuke acted bright, but he was only an average thinker, if only because he could barely organize his own thoughts half the time. The gods should strike him with lightning (which he could probably redirect) if he admitted to giving a shit about his former teammates aloud; however, they should strike him twice if he were to lie to _himself_ that he _didn't_.

"I'm going to bed. No disturbances." he said calmly, inconspicuously. Orochimaru made no complaints. Halfway down the hall to his room, though, he cursed himself.

_Shit. It's only noon._


End file.
